Glitch or test? Amazon briefly offered unlimited free shipping to Israel for Prime me

Is Amazon preparing to change the way it ships to Israel for Prime members? For several days, Israeli shoppers were able to order exercise bikes, inflatable SUP boards, suitcases, computer monitors and other large products from the United States with free shipping. The unusual offer appeared late Wednesday and remained available until the middle of the weekend. Shoppers discovered that a large number of products, including expensive, bulky and heavy items, were suddenly eligible for free delivery to Israel for Amazon Prime members. Even small, inexpensive items costing only a few dollars could be ordered with free shipping, in a model more reminiscent of major Chinese e-commerce platforms. Customers without Prime membership also saw unusually low shipping prices. The offer disappeared Friday night, apparently after Amazon detected a surge in orders for heavy products from Israel. But some shoppers are hoping it was not simply an error and may instead have been an early test of a broader free-shipping model for Israeli Prime subscribers. If so, it could mark a significant change for Israeli consumers. The number of items included in Amazon’s regular free-shipping program to Israel has declined as flights to the country have decreased, and eligibility has long been limited to specific products, models and even certain colors or sizes. Amazon currently offers free shipping to Israel on qualifying purchases of more than $49. That program, which has operated with wartime interruptions since 2019, is available to all Amazon customers in Israel. The weekend offer, however, appeared to be aimed specifically at Prime subscribers, who pay $14.99 a month, with the first month free, or $139 annually. ‘I just hope they don’t cancel the orders’ Asaf, who runs the “Pashut Zol” shopping group on Telegram, told ynet that he believed the change resulted from an update Amazon introduced Wednesday night. “In my opinion, they made an update Wednesday night that caused everything shipped to Israel, whether normally free or paid shipping, to become free for Prime subscribers,” he said. “That meant I could order a $5 toothpaste and have it delivered to my home without paying anything extra, and I could also order larger products that normally cost $100 or $200 to ship and suddenly get them delivered for free.” He said shoppers ordered exercise bikes, suitcases and inflatable SUP boards. “You paid 429 shekels and got an inflatable SUP delivered to your home with all the equipment,” he said. “I ordered a 32-inch computer monitor for 558 shekels with free shipping, but even someone without Prime paid only $6.99 for delivery. These are things that cost much more in Israel, and that included VAT.” He said shoppers also ordered workout benches for about $60, below Israel’s VAT exemption threshold, for roughly 200 shekels delivered. The change also appeared to remove restrictions on clothing. “Usually you find one color or one size included in free shipping over $49,” Asaf said. “Here, everything opened up for free shipping. All sizes, all colors, everything was shipped to Israel at no cost.” At around 1 a.m. Friday, he said, Amazon apparently discovered what shoppers believed was a glitch and removed the free-shipping option. “At first we thought maybe this was policy, some kind of change they were testing, but apparently it was a mistake,” he said. Asked whether Amazon could have been testing the Israeli market ahead of a broader change, Asaf said there was no way to know. “It’s either a bug or a glitch, but it also could have been a test,” he said. “Maybe they were testing the system, seeing what it does, how people respond, how much sales increase and whether it is worth it for them.” He noted that AliExpress already offers free shipping on many purchases above certain thresholds. “So it is not something impossible,” he said. “But in terms of products, reliability and service, Amazon and AliExpress are not the same.” For now, shoppers who took advantage of the offer are waiting to see whether Amazon honors the orders. “We just have to hope they don’t decide to cancel the orders we already placed,” Asaf said. “You can guess that Amazon, because they are Amazon, will prefer to provide the service and absorb the loss, but there is no way to know.” One thing, he added, was clear: “If this had continued, it would have caused a serious earthquake in Israel.”